Question: Let \[f(n) = \left\{
\begin{array}{cl}
n^2-2 & \text{ if }n<0, \\
2n-20 & \text{ if }n \geq 0.
\end{array}
\right.\]What is the positive difference between the two values of $a$ that satisfy the equation $f(-2)+f(2)+f(a)=0$?
Explanation: We begin by finding $f(-2)$ and $f(2)$. Since $-2<0$, we have that $f(-2)=(-2)^2-2=2$ and since $2 \geq 0$, we have that $f(2)=2(2)-20=-16$. Now we can substitute these values back into our equation $f(-2)+f(2)+f(a)=0$ to get $2 + (-16) + f(a) = 0$, so $f(a)=14$.

Our next step is to find all values of $a$ such that $f(a)=14$. Our first equation $f(a)=a^2-2=14$ yields that $a= \pm 4$, but $a<0$ so $a=-4$ is the only solution. Our second equation $f(a)=2a-20=14$ yields that $a=17$ which is indeed greater than or equal to $0$. Thus, our two possible values of $a$ are $-4$ and $17$ and their positive difference is $17 - (-4) = \boxed{21}$.